1. Introduction

This Privacy Policy describes how ReelScribe ("we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, and protects your personal information when you use our transcription service ("Service"). ReelScribe is operated by SIÁN OÜ, an Estonian company committed to protecting your privacy and complying with applicable data protection laws, including GDPR.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Account & Authentication Data

To use our Service, you must create an account. We collect:

• Email Address: Collected via Clerk authentication
• Name: Optional, collected during account creation
• User ID: Unique Clerk ID used to identify your account
• Authentication Data: Managed securely by Clerk, our authentication provider

2.2 Transcription Data

When you use our Service, we collect:

• Submitted URLs: Instagram or other platform URLs you submit for transcription
• Transcription Results: Text transcriptions stored in your dashboard
• Metadata: Video information including captions, hashtags, engagement metrics
• Processing Status: Status of each transcription (submitted, processing, completed, failed)

2.3 Credit & Payment Data

For our credit system, we collect:

• Credit Balance: Your current credit count tracked in our database
• Transaction History: Record of credit usage and purchases
• Subscription Data: Subscription tier, status, billing period dates, Stripe customer ID, and Stripe subscription ID
• Payment Data: Processed securely through Stripe—we never store your full card details

2.4 Automatically Collected Information

• Usage Data: Request timestamps and service usage patterns
• Technical Data: Browser type, device information (via analytics)
• Service Analytics: Performance and usage statistics (via Vercel Analytics)
• IP Address: Collected for security purposes

2.5 AI Training Commitment

3. How We Use Your Information

3.1 Primary Uses

• Service Delivery: Processing transcription requests and storing results in your dashboard
• Account Management: Managing your user account and authentication
• Credit System: Tracking and managing your credit balance
• Payment Processing: Processing subscription payments and managing billing through Stripe
• Service Improvement: Analyzing usage patterns and performance
• Security: Detecting and preventing fraud or abuse
• Legal Compliance: Meeting regulatory requirements and responding to legal requests

3.2 Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)

• Contractual Necessity: Processing necessary to provide the Service
• Legitimate Interests: Security, service improvement, and fraud prevention
• Consent: Where required by law, we obtain your explicit consent

4. Information Sharing and Disclosure

4.1 Third-Party Service Providers

We share information with the following service providers:

• Clerk: Authentication and user management. Learn more at clerk.com/privacy
• Convex: Database storage for your account data and transcriptions
• Vercel: Hosting and analytics
• Stripe: Payment processing for credit purchases. Learn more at stripe.com/privacy
• n8n: Webhook service for processing transcription requests

4.2 We Do NOT Sell Your Information

4.3 Legal Disclosures

We may disclose information when required by court orders, law enforcement requests with proper authority, or to protect our rights and safety.

5. Data Retention and Storage

5.1 Retention Periods

• Account Data: Retained while your account is active
• Transcription History: Stored indefinitely in your dashboard unless you delete them. There is no automatic time-based deletion of your transcriptions. You maintain full control over your data.
• Credit Transactions: Retained for 7 years for tax and legal compliance
• Payment Records: Processed by Stripe, subject to their retention policy
• Account Deletion Requests: We process deletion requests within 30 days of receipt, as required by GDPR. This is our response time for processing your request, not an automated deletion schedule.

5.2 Data Location

• Primary Database: Convex (cloud database with EU region availability)
• Authentication: Clerk (EU-compliant data centers)
• Hosting: Vercel infrastructure

5.3 Your Right to Delete

You can request deletion of:

• Individual Transcriptions: Delete directly from your dashboard
• Your Entire Account: Contact us at support@reelscribe.app
• Clerk Account: Managed through Clerk's authentication system

6. Credit System

6.1 How Credits Work

• Free Tier: Each account receives 25 free credits on signup (one-time grant, not monthly)
• Subscription Plans: Three monthly tiers — Starter (500 credits), Pro (1,500 credits), and Business (5,000 credits)
• Credit Reset: Subscription credits reset to your tier's allowance at the start of each billing cycle; unused credits do not roll over
• Storage Limits: Each tier includes a transcript storage limit (Free: 25, Starter: 100, Pro: 500, Business: unlimited)
• Credit Usage: One credit is deducted per transcription attempt
• Failed Transcriptions: Credits are refunded if transcription fails
• Credit Tracking: Your balance is tracked in our database and displayed in your dashboard

6.2 Payment Processing

Payment processing is handled by Stripe:

• We do not store your full credit card information
• All payment data is processed securely through Stripe's PCI-compliant infrastructure
• Stripe's privacy policy governs payment data handling
• Subscription credits are allocated at the start of each billing cycle
• You can manage your subscription and payment methods via the Stripe Customer Portal

7. Your Privacy Rights

7.1 GDPR Rights (EU Residents)

You have the right to:

• Access: Request copies of your personal data
• Rectification: Correct inaccurate personal data
• Erasure: Request deletion of your personal data ("right to be forgotten")
• Portability: Receive your data in a portable format
• Objection: Object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Restriction: Request limitation of data processing

7.2 CCPA Rights (California Residents)

You have the right to:

• Know: What personal information we collect and how we use it
• Delete: Request deletion of your personal information
• Non-Discrimination: Not be discriminated against for exercising your rights

7.3 Exercising Your Rights

To exercise your privacy rights:

• Email us at: support@reelscribe.app
• Include: Your account email and specific request
• No Charge: We do not charge fees for rights requests
• Response Time: We will respond within 30 days (GDPR)
• Account Deletion: Processed within 30 days of request

8. Cookies and Tracking

8.1 Authentication Cookies

• Essential: Required for account authentication and session management
• Managed by Clerk for secure sign-in

8.2 Analytics Cookies

We use Vercel Analytics which may set cookies for:

• Performance monitoring
• Usage analytics
• Error tracking

8.3 Cookie Control

• Authentication cookies are required for Service functionality
• You can disable non-essential cookies in your browser settings
• Disabling cookies may limit Service functionality

9. Data Security

9.1 Security Measures

• Data Encryption: All data encrypted in transit using HTTPS/TLS
• Authentication: Secure authentication managed by Clerk
• Access Controls: Restricted access to personal information
• Regular Updates: Security patches and updates applied promptly
• Infrastructure Security: Secure hosting environment with monitoring

9.2 Data Breach Response

In the event of a data breach:

• We will investigate and contain the breach immediately
• Affected users will be notified within 72 hours (as required by GDPR)
• We will cooperate with regulatory authorities as required

10. International Data Transfers

10.1 Cross-Border Processing

• Data Controller: SIÁN OÜ (Estonia, EU)
• Your data may be processed in countries outside the EU
• We ensure appropriate safeguards for international transfers
• Processing locations include the United States and other countries where our service providers operate

10.2 Transfer Safeguards

• Standard Contractual Clauses: Where adequacy decisions don't exist
• Service Provider Agreements: Requiring equivalent data protection (GDPR-compliant)

11. Children's Privacy

11.1 Age Restrictions

• Our Service is not intended for children under 16 (EU GDPR requirement)
• We do not knowingly collect information from children under 16
• Parents can contact us to remove any inadvertently collected child information

12. Third-Party Platform Data

12.1 Instagram and Other Platforms

When you submit URLs from third-party platforms, you acknowledge:

• We may access publicly available information from those platforms
• Such access may be subject to third-party privacy policies
• You are responsible for compliance with third-party platform terms

12.2 Content Processing

• We process audio content from submitted URLs for transcription purposes only
• We do not permanently store the original audio content
• Transcription results are stored in your dashboard for your access
• AI Training Guarantee: We do not use your submitted content or transcription results to train AI models
• Content License: You retain full ownership of your content; we only process it to provide the Service

13. Privacy Policy Updates

13.1 Change Notifications

• We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect Service or legal changes
• Material changes will be communicated via email or Service notifications
• Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance of updated policy

14. Contact Information

14.1 Privacy Inquiries

For privacy-related questions or to exercise your rights:

• Email: support@reelscribe.app
• Response Time: Within 30 days as required by GDPR
• Required Information: Please include your account email and specific request

14.2 Company Information

• Company: SIÁN OÜ
• Address: Kotkapoja tn 2a-10, 10615 Tallinn, Harju maakond, Estonia
• Email: support@reelscribe.app

14.3 Supervisory Authorities

EU residents have the right to lodge a complaint with:

• Estonian Data Protection Inspectorate: www.aki.ee
• Your local DPA: Find your local authority at edpb.europa.eu

15. Definitions

• Personal Information: Information that identifies or can be used to identify you
• Processing: Any operation performed on personal information
• Service Provider: Third parties who process information on our behalf
• Data Controller: SIÁN OÜ, responsible for determining how your data is processed